Tombstone Territorial Park
We landed in Whitehorse. Two agents greeted us at a makeshift customs ensuring that we were BC residents and hadn’t left BC in the last 14 days (thanks to some rescheduling we hadn’t). It was labour day long weekend so not much was open. We checked into our hotel (edgewater hotel, a good option in town) and headed out to Miles Canyon. Got some take away from Klondike Rib and Salmon. The next morning we got up early and drove to Dawson City. A beautiful peaceful drive. We stopped in for the classic cinnamon bun spot, fall colors were in full effect the full drive. The isolation and big skies of the Yukon landscapes are a sharp change from coastal BC. Dawson City is a step back in time with the boardwalk streets. A lot of the highlights were closed but Greek restaurant (Drunken Goat, big portions) dinner the saloon breakfast were both good.
We now headed up the infamous Dempster highway. DrivingForce allows you to drive on the dempster if you get a SUV or truck. It was recently grated and not really too bad as far as gravel roads go. Seemed better than most of the forest service roads accessing West Coast Trail or Cape Scott for example. The views however were exceptional. Oglive mountains starting to pop up with full fall colors the whole way. After about an hour we reached the trail head.
The trail starts off in the forest, with a gradual ascent along a stream. Incline is quite mellow until the treeline is reached, so even less strong hikers should be able to get a bit of a view. The views towards monolith mountain tease around the conners and through the scrubs until the viewpoint is reached. From here the full view of the reddish hued tundra becomes evident. The hike hugs the mountainside before gradually easing down towards grizzly lake. We got rain just as we were heading to camp. It is quite a nice setting right beside the lake, and reasonably sheltered from the wind. There are two nice covered eating areas and a bear cache (although they make you bring your own as well). If you’re not an experienced hiker, this makes a great overnight trip, with a possibility to add on a day hike to the lakes and stay two nights.
The next day there is a steep ascent up Glissade pass, followed by a steeper descent down the other side. Another beautiful valley awaits. We had originally planned to stay at Divide Lake but after talking to a couple who weren’t using their Talus reservation we decided to push on to Talus. The weather turned on us along the way. Snow had set in, and visibility was about 1 cairn. There isn’t much elevation gain between Divide and Talus, but there are still a number of boulder fields. We setup camp with some angst with our very much 3 season tent (Zpacks triplex) and the snow. Couldn’t really tell which way the wind was coming from so didn’t leave any vestibules open, a mistake. Lots of frozen condensation dripping on us all night. It was about -12C a good 10 degrees colder than we expected. Between the temperatures, the ice on my face, and lack of warm gloves I didn’t bother checking for the northern lights. The one other camper at the site let us know at breakfast they were great. I did get up to watch the sunrise on the valley. After being shrouded in clouds for a few days (as per the exiting hikers the day before) the tombstone range revealed itself that morning. The hike through the snow felt worth it. We set off back to grizzly lake. Boulder fields now covered in snow making for some slow going. Heading up the steep side of glissade pass was a challenge. We remembered our intro mountaineering snow travel tips and made it up, last several steps were quite icy. Grizzly lake was warmer that night, and more sheltered. It snowed more overnight, we learnd our lesson and kept one vestibule open really improving the ventilation.
Our last day out turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. The landscape was dusted with snow, grizzly lake still, and the full fall tundra colors still shining through, making for one the prettiest settings I’ve ever seen. A set of fresh bear tracks on the hike out reminded us why we were taking all those precautions. Back at the trail head we packed back into our truck and headed back to Whitehorse. Had an early morning return from Whitehorse back to Vancouver.
This was probably the finest 3 days of hiking in Canada (or anywhere) we’ve ever had. I would not trade it for anything we’ve done in the rockies (along with the crowds that follow). Fall in Tombstone is truly a world class hiking and photographic destination. I suspect it will become more popular so get there while you can! Last week of August is supposedly the best bet for fall colors without the conditions we ran into, but the snow really does add an extra element to make it breathtaking, be sure to dress warm.